Part II: My Journey

Part II: The competition day

The day has finally arrived: the day of the competition! I took support with me including two good friends and my BF that stayed over in the bungalow park close to the competition town (the full park was taken over by bodybuilders; can you imagine how this looks? :) ) I loved the thrill of knowing that this day I would shine on stage; this was the day I have trained for so dedicated and consistent. This day is why I sacrificed soo many things the past half-a- year. This is it!

At this important day, the stress level should be kept to a minimum in order to look at your best that moment on the stage (you want to make sure your body not holding any excess liquid). I had a perfect team around me supporting me and getting me trough the day. A good friend of mine is a top-hair and make-up artist that helped me getting ready. It was a honour that he wanted to do my hear and make-up this day! I really do strongly advise each athlete to bring a friend or pay for a professional to help with your hair and make-up as this relieves a lot of stress at the day itself! The tanning was being done by the professionals at the event. I have to say all went well, except for one thing: my tanning was striped! The day before the competition I used a scrub, that was apparently too intense and my body didn't recover from this, showing the exact direction of the scrubbing! (yikes!) Fortunately my PT ensured my we could cover this with oil and that this will hardly show on stage. He was there to get me ready the last minutes before the stage. Before going on stage, there was a lot of waiting, but I have to say this went quite fast. I just chilled a bit in the hallways, put my legs up and rested.

Than there was the moment on stage!...

I empathized the '.' here. Because, well, it was so quick! Just 5 or 10 minutes on stage, for the posing and the T-walk in total. When you worked so intense and dedicated for it, this time on the stage flies so fast! I did feel on top of my game at the stage; even participated in the first call-out (I have been told they like you than :) ) I was satisfied with the 6th place (out of 12) for my first competition, but I also had mixed feelings. The 6th place is not qualified for the B class (next level) competition. So unfortunately for me, I was not able to participate in a next-level competition next time, but had to compete in a similar competition again. What was a happy surprise though, was that they did call me on stage when announcing my 6th prize, even though normally they only call the 1st winner - the 5th winner on stage to hand over the prizes! #proud!

Part I: My Journey

Part I: Preparation time

Even though my stage-time was back in 2014, almost 1,5 year ago, I would like to share this story with you. 

My journey started when I took my BF to a fitness competition for his Bday. We went driving for about 1,5 hours all the way to the South of the Netherlands, where there was a A/B competition ongoing. When we arrived, we chuckled at the men, all tanned and swollen from the steroids (most of them at least). When arrived at the theater, I was however impressed when seeing the ladies on stage. The bodies were stunning and the bikini's  were beautiful, the one with more bling than the other! What I noticed, however, was that many girls seemed quite nervous on stage and that was showing in their performance. They seemed tense and did not act natural. The stage is to shine; own the stage! It was itching; I was eager to be on stage again (I used to perform when I was younger in dancing and acting, just as a hobby). I enjoy the spotlight and have missed the adrenaline rushing trough my body when going on that stage. The simultaneous feeling of power and vulnerability, being in the center of attention. The 'high' of being on the stage. But also the journey towards the stage, the dedication, the team-work (hardly ever you will do it by yourself). Standing for something, working dedicated; this gives you identity.  That place and that moment, that is when I decided I wanted to be on that stage.

I reached out to a PT, the best in it's class to help me to with my journey to the stage. While preparing, he provided the best physical advise and this really made a difference! It showed! My muscles grew, I got leaner (of course in combination with strict clean eating; remember; abs are made in the kitchen!) The past months, I thought I have been training hard already. I went to the gym 4-5x a week, did weight training and finished most times with half an hour - a full hour cardio. When doing my first training with my PT, I asked myself; 'what was I doing all this time'? This training was so intense; I lifted heavier weights than I ever thought I could lift, I did supersets, and it seemed that cardio was included in the full workout as the pace was so fast, it felt like my heart was in my throat! Wow, that is what you call a work-out. With 'just' 3 full-body workouts a week, mixing up with cardio (max 30min. High intensity a day) and clean eating, my body shaped more and more towards the body ready for stage.

Working hard! On my way to the stage...

Update and more pictures photoshoot

Hi Guys!

Meanwhile I am 3 weeks out of my first competition. So my body has changes quite a bit already. Still working to get my fat% lower by keeping a strict food-schedule. Somehow, this seems more challenging lately ;). Also, I am very excited to start my new job this week! Meeting new people and finding more opportunities! I am ready to rock the stage (almost :))!

As promised, here are several more pictures from my photoshoot a couple of weeks ago. 

Have a great week and enjoy the pictures!

The competition: Enercup

Hi All! In this blogpost I would like to tell you more about how my preparations for my first Body-fitness competition are going. Also I would like to introduce to you; the Enercup! This is the competition I will will be competing in. 

Enercup

The competition will take place at the 5th of Oktober. This is only 25 days left! So excited and nervous already at the same time. Time goes by so fast! The Enercup is a beginners competition, they call this an 'open-C competition'. What it means is that everybody can compete in the competition. When you are ranked in the top during this competition, you can go to a B-class competition, and when you win such a competition you can eventually go to the A-competition. 

Preparation

So far my preparations for the competition are going well! Trainings are hard and doing cardio in between the training days. Also trying to keep to a strict eating schedule. This is what I find the hardest; still experiencing some cravings every day! I try to satisfy those with a nice sweet protein shake or protein pancakes. Work for most times! ;) 

Also, I have been shopping for my out fit on stage! I probably will receive it this weekend and go for a fitting. I just love the bikini's in the Body-fitness class with all the *Bling* and the high heels! Which bikini I choose is still a surprise! You will have to wait for the competition day!

Excited to share more of my journey the upcoming days!

Photoshoot results

This Saturday I had an amazing experience during my first fitness photo shoot!

Angels Of Steel

Currently I am 11 weeks out; with 18% fat, so still have some work to do! But I am getting there! 3x a week full-body workout with focus on my glutes and 3x a week high-intensity cardio. For cardio I do mostly indoor-biking, but I will take on a new challenge: walking stairs. If you know Rotterdam, you might know the Maastunnel (a tunnel under the river, de Maas). Think about these stairs... Yes! That is my new cardio challenge!

Thanks to JR Photography I have some amazing photo's to share with you. The pictures definitely show my progression in training. In this blog post I will give you a preview of the photo's. There are still a lot more to come!

Here we go!

Angels Of Steel

Angels Of Steel

Angels Of Steel

Building a great butt

It's what every women wants, right? An nice round butt! But how to get it? What are the right exercises?

There are many articles available on the internet that give advice on how to get this nicely shaped butt. One name that pops up often is Bret Contreras; the so called 'expert in glutes training'. He mainly advises to incorporate the exercise 'hip thrust' in your routine, next to squats, lunges and of course, deadlifts. I think that the main important thing to keep in mind when you want to grow your butt is that you need to focus on exercises that concentrate on your glutes. Therefor, yes, Bret seems right. The hip thrust is a movement with the hips, rather than from the knees, targeting the glutes specifically. 

Two of my favourite exercises I incorporate in my routine are the hip thrust and the glute ham raise. 

Below you can find more info about them. 

The Hip Thrust

Hip thrust

The hip thrust is an exercise focussing on your glutes. I usually make use of the 'hip thrust machine' where I place my shoulders on the bench and my feet on the plateau. Than I use a resistance band in order to make the exercise heavier. But ofcourse you can start by just using your own bodyweight and slightly building up the resistance by using different resistance belts. Make sure to make an explosive upward movement and really focus on the glutes. Then go slowly down. 

The video below shows how this can be done. 

Glute ham raise

The glute ham raise can be done on a special

The Glute ham raise

machine, which I like to make use off. It looks like the back extension machine, however, the ends of your legs are placed higher to focus more on your glutes than on your back. Make sure to fully release your hips from the machine when on the top of your upward movement, squeezing the glutes. Try not to cheat by pointing your toes outward when doing the exercise, but keep your feats close together. Try to do the upward movement rather explosive while going down slowly until bended a bit further than horizontal. The video below illustrates the movement. 

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!

Fist things first; The magic 4: training

Get it done B*tch!

Go to the gym, work out, and see results!

When you want to become fit, you have to work for it! The fist step is: find a gym that suits you! I used to train at one of the large commercial trainings centres. Training there was fine, although during peak times is was vey busy and it was like doing the chair dance with others! The equipment was sufficient for me to train every body part and there were plenty of cardio machines. During my search for a coach I came across a local fitness centre, about 10 minutes biking from my house. This training enter has a no-nonsense attitude and had way more unique equipment than at the commercial gym. It felt good to work out there.  That’s where you can find me now, almost every day!

The second step is: go to the gym! When you find the gym that suits you and where you feel good at, you should go there! I personally go to the gym almost 6 days a week. I do weight training 3 times a week and cardio 3 times a week as well. When it is good wheatear I love to do my cardio sessions outside though. Find your own motivation to go to the gym, get inspiration and get it done! It might also help to go to the gym with a training partner. This person should be as motivated as you though, so you could go to the gym together and support each other.

Here you see the typical difference between a marathon
athletes and a sprinter. The sprinter has visible more
muscle development. Training type matters!

The third step is: match your training schedule with your goals! I love the classic example of sprinters and marathon runners. Both sports are amazing and require dedication and commitment. However, the looks of both athletes differ greatly. Marathon runners are very slim and showing few muscles, while sprinters are shredded with muscle development. This example shows how different trainings affect your body differently. Important is to balance weights training and cardio.

Weight training

Like I mentioned I do weight training 3 times a week. I do a full body workout; this means I work all muscle groups during my workout. Another option is to do different body parts on different days. For example, 1 day leg day, 1 day back and triceps, 1 day chest and shoulders. When working out, choose to do the larger muscles (quads, chest, back, shoulders, hamstrings) first, and that one or more smaller muscles (triceps, bicep, calves, forearms, traps). This is recommended because it is mostly the exhausted smaller muscles holding you back doing exercises.

Cardio

I try to keep my cardio and weight trainings separate. If you don’t have the time or opportunity to do that, you can also choose to do your cardio workout after you weight training. It is better to do this afterwards, so you can use your power at the start of the workout for your weight training. For cardio, you could do anything, like running, biking, cross trainer etc.  I perform a short and steady high intensity cardio workout 2 times a week. I prefer the bicycle because it is less destructive for the joints. The other time I like to do sprints outside. Near my house there is a 100 meter training track where I like to go run with friends. This is an interval training (high intensity for 10-60seconds and moderate intensity 30-60seconds). I usually try to keep my cardio sessions short and intense for about 20-30 min (excluding warming up and cooling down). 

Set your goals, plan your trainings, and get it done B*tch!